Friday, June 26, 2015

The majority (≥ 6 miles) of the Beast on the Bay will
be on the beach, which is completely different than running on pavement. The
muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the hips and legs will be utilized in ways
you may not have used them before. So, it is imperative that you begin running
on the beach at least once a week, for a minimum of 1 mile, progressing to 4
miles by the end of your training. Your gait should be more of a shuffling
stride when running on the sand, due to the instability of the sand. A number
of participants will be running along the shoreline, which can be more stable
than up on the beach, however, they will be running almost twice as far. The
shoreline consists of a series of crescents, thereby extending the distance you
run. I recommend staying up on the beach and running a straight line. I’ve
passed a lot of people by using this strategy. Also, I’ve run the entire
Presque Isle shoreline, and there are a lot of parts that you will sink in. The
beach sand is fairly consistent and quicker.

There
will be trails through the wooded areas of the peninsula, as well as stretches
of ankle-deep mud through the reeds. If you live in the Erie area, I highly
recommend the Brown’s Farm course, as well as the trails of Asbury Woods for
familiarizing yourself to uneven terrain. Roots are usually the first thing to
trip you up, so be sure to make a conscious effort in lifting your feet. You’re
going to step on a number of roots, but you will be more likely to avoid injury
if you can make micro-adjustments in your footing. It’s easy to roll an ankle
on a root, but the more you train in the frontal (side to side) plane, the
better you become at adapting to lateral forces on your joints and muscles.

To help
participants prepare for the Beast on the Bay, I offer a training program
through the LECOM Wellness Center, called Beach Boot Camp. It’s a great way to
become familiar with aspects of Presque Isle that you may not have encountered.
We are constantly in the water and covered in sand, so you get used to being
uncomfortable, while running and performing various calisthenics. We also use
sand bags and tires, which forces you to strengthen your core from carrying
objects of unbalanced weight proportions. There is a lot of running in the sand
and in the water, just as you will be doing in the Beast. I highly recommend
wearing running shoes without socks. Because your feet will get wet multiple
times, you’re less likely to get blisters if you don’t have the extra layer of
fabric rubbing against your skin. As long as your shoes fit tightly on your
feet, you’ll be fine. For more information about the Beast on the Bay or my
Beach Boot Camp, please contact me on my Hopkins Fitness Facebook page.

Friday, June 19, 2015

The majority of the obstacles in the Beast on the Bay
require the use of upper body muscle groups, especially those involved in
pulling movements (back and biceps). Grip strength is a key factor in any
pulling movement, which involves the flexors of the forearm. Your grip strength
comes into play when you’re climbing cargo nets and walls, traversing monkey
bars, carrying sand bags and buckets of water. To a lesser extent of
successfully completing the obstacles, are the muscles involved in pushing
movements (chest, shoulders and triceps). You will spend more of your time
pulling yourself up, across, and through obstacles, than you will spend pushing
your way through them. However, it is imperative that you create a balance
between opposing muscle groups. So, be sure to exercise both pushing and
pulling muscle groups equally.

The
core is often misrepresented as only referring to your abdominals, but it
actually refers to all muscles in your torso. We call it the core because it is
where all ambulatory movement originates. More specifically, it is the
culmination of these muscles working together, while stabilizing the entire
body, regardless of the muscle action being performed. Every obstacle will
require the use of core strength, regardless of the upper body muscle group you
are using. Crawling through pipes and under cargo netting is simulated by
performing plank walks with sliders. Farmer walks with a kettlebell in the
suitcase position, is similar to carrying a bucket of water. In both of these
scenarios, you’re using your torso to stabilize the rest of your body in
completing the movement.

Here’s a list of exercises divided into groups of push, pull,
and core movements:

Push

Pull

Core

Push-Ups

Pull-Ups

V-Sit-Ups

Chest Press w/ Dumbbells

Pulldown

Plank Walk w/ Sliders

Chest Fly w/ Cables

Dumbbell Row

Kneeling Wood Chop

Incline Chest Press w/ Dumbbells

Seated High Row

Standing Low-High Wood Chop

Decline Chest Press w/ Dumbbells

Standing T-Bar Row

Step-Up w/ Low-High
Wood Chop

Shoulder Press w/ Dumbbells

Close-Grip Pulldown

Standing Torso Twist w/ Cables

Front Shoulder Raise

Bent-Over Row

Straight-Arm Pulldown

Lateral Raise

Single-arm Pulldown

Rope Crunch w/ Stability Ball

Upright Row

Single-arm Seated Row

Kneeling Rope Crunch

Standing Shoulder Press

Bicep Curl w/ Rotation

Body Saws w/ Sliders

Tricep Press

Hammer Curls

Kettlebell Windmill

Single-arm Tricep Press

Spider Curls

Farmer Walk w/ Kettlebells

A basic
strength training program for the upper body will be performed 2-4 days per
week and target the chest, shoulders, triceps, back, biceps, and abdominals.
You should allow a minimum of 48 hours between similar exercises, to enable
proper muscle recovery and tissue repair. The Beast on the Bay is going to
require mostly muscular strength and muscular endurance as opposed to power and
hypertrophy (muscle size). Use the recommendations for endurance when
performing core and body weight exercises. Use the repetition ranges between
strength and endurance for everything else. I recommend performing 3-5 sets of
6-15 reps for exercises involving free weights and/or machines. Refer to the
following tables for more specific load percentages, set and repetition ranges
according to the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Note: 1RM represents the maximum weight
you can correctly perform one repetition for an exercise (bench press, squat,
etc). Use these recommendations for lower body exercises as well.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

The Beast on the Bay is a 10-mile course, so you should be
able to run a minimum of 5 miles, preferably 7 miles comfortably, without
stopping. Be sure to track your training runs with distance covered over a
given period of time. I don’t believe in running without knowing how far you
have gone. A number of running plans out there will have you just getting used
to running for time and not being concerned with the distance you’ve covered.
That’s like telling someone who wants to begin strength training, to just start
lifting weights and not take note of how many pounds their using. You don’t
know where you’re starting and therefore, don’t know how to get where you want
to be. A basic running program consists of four running days per week, with the
longest distance on the fourth day. Rest days in the following table are meant
for running only. Cross training (biking, swimming) and strength training can
be done on those days instead. Here is a beginner’s 12-week running plan for
the Beast on the Bay:

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

1 mile

Rest

2 miles

1 mile

Rest

2 miles

Rest

1

Rest

2

1

Rest

2

Rest

1

Rest

2

1

Rest

2

Rest

2

Rest

2.5

1.5

Rest

3

Rest

2

Rest

3

2

Rest

3

Rest

3

Rest

4

3

Rest

4

Rest

3

Rest

4

3

Rest

4

Rest

3

Rest

4

3

Rest

5

Rest

3

Rest

4

3

Rest

5

Rest

4

Rest

5

3

Rest

5

Rest

4

Rest

5

4

Rest

6

Rest

4

Rest

5

4

Rest

7

Rest

The beach consists of uneven and variable
terrain, which will stress muscles, ligaments, and tendons that you may have
not used in such a way. So, it’s imperative to incorporate a lower body
strength training program to prepare for both the terrain of the beach and the
mileage you will be doing. Lower body exercises should be performed 2 – 3 times
per week, with a minimum of 48 hours between sessions. Running is a single-legged
activity, so it’s important to include single-leg exercises in your routine.
The exercises should use muscle actions involving all three planes of movement
(sagittal, frontal, and transverse). The sagittal plane involves forward and
backward movements, the frontal plane involves side to side movements, and the
transverse plane involves rotational movements. Here’s a list of lower body
exercises that will support and improve your running program:

Both
Legs

Single-Leg

Deadlift

Goblet Squat

Squat

Standing Adduction

Kettlebell Swings

Hip Abduction

TRX Pistol Squat

Standing Abduction

Walking Lunges

Hip Adduction

Leg Press

Straight-Leg Raise

Front Squat

Band Walks

Glute Bridge

Hip Extension

Glute Bridge

Monster Walks

RDL w/ Kettlebell

Step-Up w/ Wood Chop

Rotational Squat

Knee Tucks w/ Sliders

RDL Cable Machine

Turkish Get-Up

Straight-Leg Calf Press

Flexed-Leg Calf Press

Mountain Climbers

Box Step-Up

Demonstrations of these exercises
can be found on my Hopkins Fitness Facebook page. Please feel free to ask me
any questions. Remember, every program should be designed for the individual,
so some movements may need to be modified. Next week, we’ll be covering upper
body exercises and core exercises.

Thursday, June 4, 2015

The
Beast on the Bay is an event that is going to tax its participants both
physically and mentally. Preparation is imperative for successful completion
and injury prevention. We are 15 weeks out from the Beast on the Bay, so we
have plenty of time to improve muscular strength and aerobic endurance. Being
proficient in these two components will lessen the mental effect of the Beast,
enabling you to focus on the physicality of the event and enjoy attempting its
challenging obstacles. Along with any strength and conditioning program, is a
balanced nutrition and hydration regimen. You’re going to need to properly fuel
your workouts and recover from them, by eating the appropriate amount of
macronutrients (carbs, fats and proteins). Finally, your performance in the
Beast will be dictated by your attire (shirt, shorts and shoes). You will be getting wet, so you will want to
wear tightly fitting clothing and I advise on avoiding socks. We will be
addressing each of these aspects throughout the summer, as you prepare for the
Beast on the Bay.

The
first portion of your training should focus on strength training and
cardiovascular conditioning. Upper body strength days will focus on abs, chest,
back, shoulders, biceps and triceps. Lower body strength days will address
hips, glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, abductors, adductors and calves. We will
be working in all three planes of movement (sagittal, frontal and transverse),
due to the Beast obstacles requiring your body to twist, flex and extend in
multiple directions. Strength training should be performed two to four times
per week, with alternating muscle groups on different days. We’ll be doing a
combination of aerobic and anaerobic conditioning, consisting of long distance
running and sprinting. I’ll be planning out the distances that should be
covered from week to week.

The
next portion of your training will involve exercising on the beach, both in and
out of the water. It’s beneficial to get used to exercising while wet and
covered in sand, since this is how you will be throughout the Beast. Running on
the sand will cause muscles, tendons, and ligaments of the hips, knees and
ankles, to become more active than running on pavement. So, you’ll want to be
running on the sand a couple times a week, beginning in July, in order to
practice your technique. You have to employ more of a shuffling stride to
prevent from digging into the sand with your feet.

The
final stretch of training will focus on replicating the movements required for
completing the obstacles in the Beast. The obstacles will involve crawling,
climbing, carrying, and dragging objects. To address the muscle actions
required for these movements, I will provide video clips and pictures on my
“Hopkins Fitness” page on Facebook. We’ll be us

ing kettlebells, ropes, medicine
balls, bands, sliders, as well as demonstrations of exercises performed on the
beach. Stay current with our blog for updates and training information, so we
can be successful in our Beast on the Bay endeavor. Please contact me with any
questions on my facebook page.

Bio: I'm the Fitness Supervisor at the LECOM Wellness Center. I served in the Marine
Corps for 6 years and attained my Masters degree in Exercise Science at
Bloomsburg University. I have competed in events such as 5ks, half-marathons,
marathons, Erie Bay Swim, Tough Mudder, and the Barber Beast on the Bay.